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Comet C/2004 Q2 (Machholz): Parent Volatiles, A Search For Deuterated Methane, And Constraint On The Ch4 Spin Temperature, Boncho P. Bonev, Michael J. Mumma, Erika L. Gibb, Michael A. Disanti, Geronimo L. Villanueva, Karen Magee-Sauer, Richard S. Ellis
Comet C/2004 Q2 (Machholz): Parent Volatiles, A Search For Deuterated Methane, And Constraint On The Ch4 Spin Temperature, Boncho P. Bonev, Michael J. Mumma, Erika L. Gibb, Michael A. Disanti, Geronimo L. Villanueva, Karen Magee-Sauer, Richard S. Ellis
Erika Gibb
High-dispersion (λ/δλ ≈ 25,000) infrared spectra of Comet C/2004 Q2 (Machholz) were acquired on 2004 November 28-29, and 2005 January 19 (UT dates) with the Near InfraRed echelle SPECtrograph (NIRSPEC) at the Keck-2 telescope on Mauna Kea. We detected H2O, CH4, C2H2, C2H6, CO, H2CO, CH3OH, HCN, and NH3 and we conducted a sensitive search for CH3D. We report rotational temperatures, production rates, and mixing ratios (with respect to H2O) at heliocentric distances of 1.49 AU (2004 November) and 1.21 AU (2005 January). We highlight three principal results. (1) The mixing ratios of parent volatiles measured at 1.49 AU and …